Dudley taxi driver denies passenger face lick was sex assault

A JUDGE told a Dudley taxi driver who licked a female passenger he had carried out a “very unpleasant” assault.

But at Wolverhampton Crown Court, Judge John Warner said the conduct of Mahroof Khan was at the lower end of the scale for sexual offending.

He told 37-year-old Khan: "The result is you have lost your job, I don't know if you will be allowed to operate again as a taxi driver because of your conviction."

Khan, of Bridgewater Crescent, had denied sexual assault but he was found guilty by a jury after they retired to consider the evidence at the end of his trial.

He was placed on supervision for two years by the judge, told to register as a sex offender for five years and obey a four month curfew order on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights between the hours of 6pm and 6am.

The judge who further ordered Khan to pay £500 costs said the young woman got into his taxi in the early hours and he started off by being friendly before paying her a number of compliments.

But at some stage he got hold of her mobile and when she tried to get it back he kissed her hand before licking her face from one side to the other.

The judge added: "She was alone in your taxi and therefore in a vulnerable position, she was clearly extremely upset by what happened."

The court was told by Sunit Sandhu, for Khan, his client is man of previous good character, was now trying to obtain employment in a factory while currently working part-time in a restaurant.